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TARRANT, Ala. (AP) - Helen Johnson isn’t a hardened criminal, but when those you love haven’t eaten in days, you might do things you wouldn’t do otherwise, she said.

The 47-year-old mother and grandmother didn’t go to Dollar General in Tarrant Saturday with plans to steal eggs, or anything else. But she did, and she got caught.

What followed was a heartwarming story about a police officer with a kind heart who bought her the eggs, a video of a hug between the two that has practically gone viral and now the promise of more for a woman just trying to feed her family.

“I was just getting eggs and now that’s saved my life,” Johnson told AL.com Tuesday. “I’ve never been more grateful in my life. I’m so overwhelmed with the goodness of these people.”

Johnson’s two daughters, a niece and two grandchildren, ages 1 and 3, live with her in their Tarrant home. The kids’ mother gets a welfare check - $120 a month - but that check was lost in the mail. Johnson herself gets a disability check, which is set to come this week.

By Saturday, the family had gone two days without food. Johnson went to Dollar General on Pinson Valley Parkway with $1.25 and thought that would be enough to buy a carton of eggs. When she realized she was .50 cents plus tax short, she stuffed five eggs in her pocket out of desperation.

You know what they say about karma, right? “Of course when I put them in my jacket pocket they broke,” Johnson said. “I’m not a good thief at all.”

A store worker stopped Johnson and asked her if she had taken the eggs. She said she did, and they said they had already called the police.

By the time she got to the door, Tarrant police Officer William Stacy was there, and told her to stay put. The officer said he’d already talked to Dollar General officials and they said they weren’t going to press charges.

Johnson didn’t know that, and said she was waiting for him to bring out the handcuffs. Instead, he went into the store and came back out with a carton of eggs. “She started crying, she got very emotional and was very apologetic,” Stacy said. “She tried to give me the money she had on her, $1.25.”

Johnson said she was stunned. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, thank you Jesus for this man,’” she said. “He is my hero.”

Stacy said he can remember times growing up when his mother had trouble finding ways to feed him and his sister. He had been on a call to Johnson’s house once before, and had gotten a glimpse of the living conditions.

“The story she told me Saturday matched up with what I had seen when I was there,” he said. “I felt like it was the right thing to do. I didn’t want to pass judgment on her.”

She asked how she could repay him, and he told her to not shoplift again. “Sometimes the best route is to not arrest,” Stacy said. “I hope she won’t do it again. I pray she doesn’t, and I don’t think she will.”

Johnson asked Stacy if she could hug him, and he said yes. Unbeknownst to both of them, a man named Robert “Dollar” Tripp filmed the scene on his cellphone and later posted it on his Facebook with the hashtag “feelgoodstoryoftheday.”

Johnson said she went home and fed her family with the dozen eggs. They also had a loaf of bread. It was the first thing they had eaten since Thursday, and it’s all they had been eating since Saturday. As of Tuesday morning, they were down to their last slice of bread.

“It’s tight,” she said, “but I’ll take tight over being in jail any day.”

Stacy said he, too, went on his way. Within a couple of hours, his phone was blowing up by friends and co-workers who had seen the video of his good deed.

“My co-worker said it was all over Facebook,” Stacy said.

On Tuesday, Tarrant police showed up at her home. “I was shook and so scared, “she said. “I thought it was about the eggs. My grandbaby said, ‘Are you going to jail?’ and I said I hoped not.”

No, what Tarrant police had in mind today couldn’t have been farther than jail.

The officers took Johnson back to police headquarters where they signed her up for the Tarrant Toy Drive, and also are helping to coordinate the offers of food and clothing also pouring in, said Tarrant police Sgt. Larry Rice.

Each year, Tarrant Fire heads an operation where they take donations and put together 225 food baskets, which today they provided to Johnson.

The department has been overwhelmed since the story of Stacy’s kindness and Johnson’s plight became public. They have had calls from as far away as Canada.

“I’m not a big fan of the spotlight, but I’m happy it’s drawing attention to law enforcement officers,” said Stacy, who joined Tarrant’s force in 2013. “I just like to do my job, do the right thing and come home at the end of the day. But I feel like this story is needed instead of everyone being negative about law enforcement.”

Police Chief Dennis Reno agreed. “Police officers do this all the time. Of course, these are the kind of stories that never get told,” Reno said. “Every police officer in Jefferson County has done this at one point in time.”

They may act like it’s no big deal, but Johnson feels differently. “I’m so proud of Dollar General for not pressing charges. I’m so proud of Sgt. Rice and Officer Stacy, I wish there was more like him,” she said. “I don’t know if he’s an angel or God-sent, but he was there for me and I appreciate every minute of it.”

Johnson said she didn’t know how she would ever repay the kindness of the police, or the generosity of the public. Then she thought a minute, and said she did. “I have to be a good girl from here on out.”

Anyone who would like to contribute to Tarrant’s efforts to help Johnson and others in need for Christmas can call the police department at 205-849-2811.

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